Old habits die harder than they should
by LaughingOutBlood
Summary: After Ling Yao is crowned emperor of Xing, Lan Fan is abandoned to start a life on her own, still only 16 years old. But did the young lord relay leave her behind or was it for the better? My fist story so the summary sucks but i'm sure ill get better at them :) I just don't want to give the story away.
1. Chapter 1: Something new

**Chapter One**

In front of a crowed in the Yao clan. I stood just behind the young lord, just out of sight. Silent. As always I was observing my surroundings while protecting the young lord from any threat. My mask was covering my face to hide the fact I was a female, as that would bring shame in my country. The young lord was crowned as emperor in front of my eyes. I could feel the tears of joy slide down my check covered by my mask. I could only see his back but could imagine the joy reflected in his eyes at the news, it made me happy to know his ambition finally came true. Our journey to Amestris was not in vain.

After a speech and the ceremony was over the young lord started to walk away, the left of the stage to a crowed of royal guards by a car to take Ling to his new home in a different part of the country. My heart was racing I could feel it beating in my chest like a drum and feared if someone else could hear it; they would think I was weak, I started to followed him, to be stopped just before the car. My worse fear was happening. My young lord was being taken away from me. I shouted "young lord!" and tried to get past the guards but it was no use; They were taller and stronger than me, probably more experienced with holding people back than I was at forcing past people. The young lord didn't even turn his head (I hoped it was that he couldn't hear me shouting) and the car drove away. Leaving me alone.

Lan fan opened her eyes fast and jolted up. A horrible dream filled her head, _why am I thinking of that now? _She thought to herself. The room was small and clustered with a variety of weapons, all different sizes and uses with unpainted walls. Her mask hung on a hook by the door and her usual clothes lay on the floor near the old wooden bed. A small picture of her grandfather, Fu, hung on the wall just above it. She whipped the sweat of her forehead with her cold, steal arm sending a small shiver down her spine as the cold meet with her heat. She turned her head to the clock on her wall. 3:05 AM. Lan Fan sighed heavily and swung her legs out of the bed, her feet meeting the cold floor. She was wearing her usual black trousers with a white cotton strip tied around the top as a belt and her chest binding.

She slowly turned the handle of her door and walked into the living-room of a messy small apartment. And wondered towards window. It was still dark, stars glistening and no moon. She headed to the bathroom to start getting ready for the day. She only woke 25 minutes early.

It had been three months since Ling left his former bodyguard and became emperor. Since then she has become a secret hire out assassin. It wasn't an ideal job and often was illegal but what else could she do? No one wanted a female guard as they brought dishonor if anyone knew and were considered weaker than males. This also made her job hard but for last minute resort she was quite good. And since she was six she was thought to be nothing but a ninja, so she wouldn't know what to do as a housewife, running a shop or any other business. But each job paid well so it wasn't all bad.

At 0:42 Lan fan returned home, and placed the money from her last job in a box on the table by the bathroom door and then went into the bathroom to get cleaned up and polish her automail arm. Leaving the mask on the floor in the living-room As she went into the bedroom of her small apartment she saw a rolled up letter on her pillow, tied with a red bow. Her wet bangs dripped on her bed as she bent down and picked it up. Confusion filled her face as no one had ever found her home before. She slowly pulled the ribbon off and unrolled the paper. A small message was inscribed in neat ink:

_Meet me at the local square at 4 am tomorrow morning. Look sharp, I'll be waiting_

This letter made chills go down her spine. She knew that this must have been a trap and had to think the situation over. '_This is clearly a trap but if I don't go they knew where I live and could attack me when I'm unprepared, or I could go in disguise but they'd know it was me as I'm the only person in the whole of Xing who has automail. However I have no jobs tomorrow so I could make it but would that be the smart thing to do?'_ She lay down in bed staring at the ceiling. '_What should I do?'_ Kept running through her head. '_If only I knew who put it there…' _and '_what would they even want with me_.' Debating what she should do this time seemed harder than the usual. The room's atmosphere seemed to change from warm and comforting to airy, uncomfortable and cold. Her head started to hurt with all the over thinking and after a few hours and then she accidently fell asleep.

In the morning she rolled of the bed, her deep sleep ending with a loud Thump, making a low moan escape her mouth. Slowly she sat up using her flesh hand to move her scruffy hair out of her face, so she could look at the time. Her eyes widened as she saw the time 4:05 am. "Shit!" she muttered under her breath and she ran to the bathroom where she left her clothes. Deciding there and then to make an appearance at the local square.

As she rushed around her apartment looking for a brush and looking for her missing boot she decided to be cautious and grabbed a few flash bombs, a Kuni, the blade that fitted into the elbow of her automail and the spikes she usually had on her knuckles. Tripping while pulling on her missing boot, she fell flat on her face into the floor. "Ughfft!" making her wince with pain. But running late she quickly jumped back up and grabbing an apple while rushing she quickly climbed out the window jumping roof to roof to the local square, to take an above view on her surroundings and find out who summand her. Before making an appearance before them.

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**LOB note: this is my first fanfiction with chapters I've added to the internet so i know this chapter isn't very good but i promise that it'll get better. And please leave constructive comments and feedback.**

**KEY:  
*** = later one/ time skip  
Line breaker (the horizontal line) = change in character POV  
" " = a character speaking  
' ' = a characters thoughts**


	2. Chapter 2: The bright shinning moon

**chapter two**

Behind the point in the roof, she was hiding, the top half of her head peeking over the top looking at the square. It was still dark but the dim glow of the stars and moon with the use of chi made it as bright as midday to Lan Fan. She could tell that there were only a few people in the square and none of them were candidates for the mysterious letter man. There were two drunken men, about 19 (3 years older than herself) with a girl around their age who also appeared dunk. She was one of their sister as one kept calling her 'sister' frequently, a stray dog also wondered around, nose to the ground and an old man (whose chi wavered like he was sad) coming home from an special even with a woman in her 40's (daughter maybe?)

Lan fan turned her back to the square while lowering out of sight. "Maybe I've missed them" she muttered under her breath into the wind that seized the night. A shiver down her spine as her automail attracted the cold. She raised her right arm and pressed it to her left shoulder to warm the base a little. This calmed down the shivering, but not much.

Slowly, she skidded down the roof and leapt to the taller building next to it. Then she climbed to the top silently, wind covering any possible noise she made. When she got to the roof she clambered, very spider like in speed, to the point of the roof and stood on it. One foot slightly behind the other, he back straight. Over all the buildings, on a slight hill, The Yao palace could be seen. Lan Fan pulled down her hood and swung her mask so it was behind her, held on by the string tied around her like a necklace. Just the sight of it brought a soft smile to Lan Fans face, which was normally held emotionless and stern. Tears starting to well up in her eyes as all the memories came, flooding her mind. Her childhood, her grandfather and ...The young lord where all nothing but what seemed a distant dream, all held in that one building. During the hot summers they'd sit in the garden. The nights when the young lord couldn't sleep, and they'd go sit on the roof. The one time a week she'd go to school with the young lord, to watch over him in disguise. The future plans made. The games inside the house, during the rainy season. The feeling of belonging. It was everything life now wasn't. It was happy, it was family, it was home.

Then suddenly the atmosphere around Lan Fan went dark, sinister, unpleasant and some-what mysterious. Quickly she slid her mask back on and lifted up her hood. She twisted her body so she could see behind her. Then slowly moving down the roof with small, close, cautious steps, she moved in a slow circle to see her full surroundings. Her Kuni in her right hand, outstretched downwards and her left arm bent in front of her, blade in the elbow sticking out, gleaming in the night.

She was halfway down the roof when he stopped and swiftly tossed her Kuni over her shoulder hitting a man in the forehead. Another man slashed his sword at her rib-cage she jumped and span in the air and pulled out a flash bomb. They might be able to detect Chi but now they wouldn't know what type of attack to expect. She did always rely heavily on bombs. Both Men were tall and heavily built, in their late 20's at least. Faces covered with ski masks and fully in black with a white band around their necks.

When she landed in-between the two men she ducked down and sung her leg around knocking the one higher on the roof over and jumped over him. Watching him slide down the roof and knock the other man down and off the roof with him. Then there was a loud bang and everything went fuzzy. And dark.

Muffled voices. She couldn't make out what they were saying, everything was black and she moved her arm to rub her eye but it was stopped. Her arms and feet had been tied and she now realized that her mouth was gagged. She felt dizzy and there was a throbbing in the back of her head. She'd been knocked unconscious with some sort of weapon. HARD. Unfortunately she was exhausted from a lack of sleep and after being knocked unconscious she didn't have the energy to overcome the dizzy tiredness and fell back into the dark.

When she opened her eyes again, head lowered down in-front of her. She was keeled down in a large well decorated room. One of the men from earlier that day holding her arms behind her back and keeping her low, In front of her was the back of a chair.  
"How much is it you want for her?" came a slightly high pitch voice of a young man  
Lan Fan kept her breathing slow and head down to try and give the illusion she was still out cold.  
"10,000" came a gruff steady voice to her left, the man in charge of the capture she assumed  
"and if I refuse?"  
"We take the girl where you'll never find her"  
"why's that?"  
"so you can't hire someone cheaper" he responded with a small snicker  
"I see" the hidden mad said in a concerned voice, after a moment of silence he spoke up again, this time more aggressive and focused. "How's her health?"  
"She missing her left arm, however her replacement seems to work fine-whatever it is- and none of her bones are broken, we just knocked her out"  
"I see. And witnesses?"  
"Aren't any, took her early hours this morning. Do we have a deal?" now he was sounding aggressive.  
The man in the chair gave a deep sigh, "you got a deal" he spun his chair around and handed a wad of money to the man on her right. The man in the chair had the usual dark black hair of Xing tied in a bun on the top of his head, clearly rich, with bluish-grey eyes.  
"Pleasure doing business" A man snickered by the door. The man holding Lan Fan up let her go, causing her to fall to the floor. This caused a gasp to leave her mouth and winced in pain. All three men left. The door slammed behind them. Just the rich man and her were left in the room. 'What's going on' she thought as she lay on the floor.

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**LOB note: Sorry the chapters a little short, i felt if i carried it on and it was noticeably different size to chapter one it look weird to i'll just add the next chapter real soon :) please leave your comments and constructive advice, thankyou for reading. **


	3. Chapter 3: just around the corner

**Chapter 3**

A sharp pain filled her head, the throbbing part of her head where she was hurt earlier almost making her tear up with pain, the rich man had lifted her head from the ground by pulling her hair to lift her up. Her teeth were now gritted and wincing, a low growl escaped from the back of her throat.

"So you're the Yin Raven?" he snarled looking her in the face in a slightly amused tone. "To think a woman became one of the most popular assassins and killed all those men really makes me laugh" an evil smile now spreading on his face. "You really are a special one aren't you?" He dropped her on the floor again and walked over to his chair, spinning it so he would be facing her. A look of disgrace was now visible "Bet your family disowned you long ago" a light sight "I don't understand why anyone would be looking for you" he muttered under his breath, fortunately she had really good hearing and heard the comment, making her eyes fill with anger.

Lan fan, struggling, sat herself up on her knees. She leaned her head to right shoulder, and pressing it against her head, removed the gag around her neck. "What do you want with me?" she growled at him "who are you?" a snarl on her face.

"You're a smart one aren't you" a smile curling his lips at the sight in-front of him. It was more of a statement than a question. "Isn't it obvious?" he said with a mocking laugh. "For three months there have been a lot of killings in rivals of every kind in the shadows: gangs, robbers, thugs, the list goes on. And in the black market it's been said the Yin Raven was in charge of it all. Highly skilled assassin that never shows his face." He was walking around Lan Fan now with a wide smile on his face and enthusiasm in his voice. "No one knows who he is. No one's seen him. The police can't find him. He always appears last second. Never demands more money than offered to start and has a high reward if caught. I just had to find out who it was" he stopped at looked at her, rushing towards her as he spoke "but to find out that this legend is nothing but a 16 year old FEMALE" he spat the last word with disgust. He grabbed her face and forced her to look forward, harsh grip on her face "and now you belong to me" a huge grin on his face, eyes wide with eagerness and bad content in his chi. "But the main reason I needed you is simple" letting her go and wondered towards the window, looking out at the city outside "my name is Yen Shieshima, and rumour has it that the 'Ying raven' has a blade that comes out of his arm. Furthermore, the Emperor is looking for someone who has a metal arm" he turned and gestured towards Lan Fans left arm. "Although he described a metal arm for a warrior not wires and scrap metal".

This comment made Lan Fans eyes widen and quickly look to her left. Her automail was just the base and had been scrapped down; just her hand and parts of the top had the metal cover on it. She was rendered speechless. "So I'm going to had you over to him. And I should be rewarded with a knighthood or a dukedom" with this he picked her up by her good arm and started walking towards the door. This caused Lan fan to keep tripping as her feet where tied together, but after a while of trying to walk the rope came loose and she was able to walk alongside him. 'The young lords been looking for me' she thought to herself, not noticing the tears welling up in her eyes. 'I can't wait to see him, I'm finally going to see him again' she thought to herself. The next thing she knew she was being frown into the back of a cart.

* * *

Just another day of sitting on the throne and doing paperwork. Then suddenly a message boy came running into the room out of breath. Ling half rose off his throne and dropped all his papers on the floor "what is it?" he demanded, panic in his voice.  
"A…an urgent…l-l-letter…fo..for Emperor…Y..Yao" and handed him the letter, bowed and exited the room. The Large doors banged behind him.

* * *

She was blindfolded by Yen once more. She could feel the breeze blowing in the cart softly against her face and the bumps in the road making the cart bob up and down. Her face was blank and emotionless. "You must feel proud of yourself" she spat agressivly at the fact she was blindfolded again.  
"Indeed I am" he responded in a calm voice. 'He must be enjoying this' she thought to herself. 'Great'. Lan fan was wearing her usual plant trousers, white belt and chest binding with lose messy hair. Her automail was wrecked and she had no shoes. Her mask, weapons and other items of clothing had been removed by the thugs that caught her, probably to remove all items she could use to her advantage. They were right to do so.

She almost fell off her chair as it came to a sudden halt. She stumbled for balance. She wasn't using her left arm much encase she broke it more. Then it would be rendered useless as there were no automail engineers in Xing. At all.

She was told she had to go along with whatever Yen said or, as he bought her, he could turn her in as the Yin Raven and she would be executed. So she had no choice but to agree.

She could feel a man's grip tighten on her arm, 'probably a guard' she thought, as the cold sent shivers down her body. She kept stumbling because she couldn't see the corners coming but she was fine. Then, she felt a familiar chi. The joy overwhelmed her and she could hear two large doors creak open. Her heart was thumping in her chest. She was yet again forced to her knees one in the middle of the room. Pain going into her knee caps, but she didn't care. Her head, still in pain from the hair pulling and being knocked unconscious, hurt even more as she could feel her pulse through it. And her face turned bright red. Tears whelming up behind her blindfolded eyes and she started to shake with nerves.

Then, the blindfold came off.

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**LOB note: hi, guys i got a few things to say this time so:**

**-thanks for the reviews it means soo much. i started the 3rd chapter right after the 2nd but it needed proofreading so i didn't read the reviews till then and one of you guessed the original story but when i was writing the 3rd chapter it seemed predictable so i changed it a little.  
-i'm so so so sooo sorry that Ling hasn't been in it until now and i promise hes going to become a main character  
-i don't know how many chapter this will be so if you think its getting to much tell me in a review and i'll try and sort it.  
-alright so i'm a luge Lingfan shipper so i am trying to stay true to the distance they have in the original story but to be honest that walls going to fall all over the place so i hope you don't mind (I've never wrote a love story so if it gets really sappy just tell it me straight)**

**THANK YOU AGAIN GUYS FOR READING !**


	4. Chapter 4: Ran-Lee and co

**Chapter 4**

The sudden light made her squeeze her eyes shut and tilt her head slightly right, blinking them fast to adjust, she looked forwards again. The blur in front of her turning into an image. It was her young lord. He was standing tall, long silk robs covered his entire body. His eyes were wide and filled with astonishment. Mouth partly open. And his hair tied in a bun on the top of his head. He looked…..amazing to the girl knelt on the floor. Her heart was thumping in her chest so hard she was scared that someone else might be able to hear. The room was dead silent and it felt like time was standing still.

However Lan Fan looked quite different to Ling. Her hair was messy and in all angles, her chest binding was slightly dirty (from lying on the floor and in a dirty sack) also messy and she was lucky it still covered her. Her trousers were torn below her knee and her belt was on wonky. Her automail was in pieces. She herself was covered with dirt and blood (from the thugs) and had clearly lost a lot of weight since they last saw each other, ribs now visible. Tears were pouring down her face and she was shaking violently. Clear her life hasn't been easy.

The room was silent.

The first person to speak was the guard that was behind Lan Fan. He had a loud, clear, deep voice that broke the silence like a sharp blade through fabric. It made Lan Fan jump, startled. "Your royal highness, Mr Yen has proclaimed to have found your missing" he hesitated a little and cleared his throat "accomplice" clearly not agreeing with her position or having a relationship with the emperor.

"Yes" was the muffled sound that escaped from the emperor's mouth. Clearly in disbelief 'this must be a dream' he thought to himself as a small smile spread on his face. He then shook his head slightly and began to speak loud and clear "Take this girl to the guest room closest to mine and tend to all her needs. The rest of you leave while me and Mr Yen discuss business" and he sat back in his chair.

Lan Fan couldn't move her eyes from the emperor. She didn't even notice how bad she looked. She just wanted to sit next to him like she used to. That's all. Then three maids grabbed her and escorted her out the room, pushing her along gently. Her hearts was racing and she tried to shout to him but nothing came out, her voice stuck at the back of her throat, panic rose within her that he was going to be taken from her again: She wasn't really paying attention to what anyone was saying.

Her heart sank as she was forced out of the room and the door closed leaving her lord out of sight. She didn't understand what has happening but the three women kept chattering to her and seemed excitable. It just confused her.

After a forced bath, the three women did her hair and makeup, they forced her into fresh underwear and gave her a robe with long sleeves to cover her up while they found a dress and shoes that fitted her. She wasn't pleased with this at all. 'well, this is fun' she thought to herself sarcastically as she lay on the four poster bed staring at the well painted roof.

The room was coloured in reds and gold's and had tapestry's covering it. There was a large window as the entire wall on the right side of the room. There were also statues of dragons all over of the room: on a table, the chandelier, the bed post, curtain rack, flower pot, large mirror on the table and the door knob. 'Why am I here?' she thought to herself with aggression 'why can't I protect the young lord or live my life like a normal person? Instead of all this fuss' a quite sigh escaped.

The door clattered open and she bolted up. Two guards entered and stood either side of the double door, and then the emperor came in. His eyes closed and face emotionless. He spoke steady and loud "you two may leave the room"  
"but sir-" one tried to protest  
"it's fine" he turned his head over his shoulder to face them "you can trust her" a small smile on his face.  
Lan Fan could see in the eyes of the guards they didn't believe it but they left the room anyway. The door quietly closed behind them. Lan Fans heart yet again pounding. She became flustered and wide-eyed, looking slightly towards the floor.

"Well you haven't changed much have you?" he said softly with a little laugh and sat on the bed next to her. She didn't move. Ling looked forward at the wall as he spoke "will I ever be able to see your face without you blushing?" and he laughed as a high-pitched hum escaped her mouth at the comment. Ling was determined to start a conversation so he looked in her direction, speaking more mockingly this time. "I see you haven't even got dressed yet" This made Lan fan bolt up straight and look at him, her face bright red this time "w-well you shouldn't be l-looking" she half shouted, stuttering with nerves. The comment made Ling chuckle. He placed an arm around her and pulled her close, her head learning against his chest.

"Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere." He said calmly, rubbing her right shoulder. "Y-Yao clan" she muttered, still bright red. She didn't even want to talk but she couldn't help but answer every question he wanted to asked. "Well you must have been hiding because I've been sending people all over Xing to find you since I became emperor". This made her smile a little, not because she had been hiding, but he'd actually been looking for her.

"So how've you been doing? Your house sure was messy and you seemed to have a lot of money. What's been occupying you now you're not my bodyguard? "  
She frozen and held back tears at the last part of his question. She wasn't his guard anymore. And she'll probably never be again. "You gave me the letter? But I thought it was the th-"

The three maids clustered into the room and started to giggle at the sight on the young girl learning on their emperor. Ling cleared his throat and stood up. "Erm…I'll leave you to it" and left the room. The three maids stopped whispering to each other are looked at Lan fan. Just a blush remained on her face as she stared back.

It was now 7:30 pm, Lan Fan had spent most of the day trying to adjust to wearing a dress for she hadn't worn one in years. She also kept tripping in her heals 'where could the young lord be?' she asked herself constantly pacing the room. Only one of the maids remained in the room now, her name was Ran-Lee, apparently she was assigned to be Lan Fans personal maid while she stayed in the palace. She didn't seem like a bad person just the complete opposite to Lan Fan. The new guest didn't know if she wanted to go as life in the palace was to…..girly for her or stay to be with the young lord again and hopefully regain being his bodyguard.

There was a knock on her bedroom door and the maid hurriedly opened it(probably hopping for the emperor), the message boy came in, handed a letter to Lan Fan and left calmly. This made Ran-Lee stair at Lan Fan to see her reaction. The letter was inscribed with neat handwriting:

_Come have dinner with me in the dining room, we can talk more and go for a walk in the royal garden afterwards if you please ~ Ling Yao_

The letter made her blush but she decided to go, just to see him again.

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**LOB note: you'r probably thinking that i'm dragging this out...and i see you'r point. i'll try and speed things up a little Ok?**


	5. Chapter 5: Fireflies

**Chapter 5**

The Meal to ling was interesting. Not only did he get to see his bodyguard look feminine (something he'd never seen before). But he also got to eat and sit with her after their long separation. Gratefully they were left alone as Lan fan didn't have very respectable table manners, probably because she didn't have to. She didn't eat as much as him, so she finished first but then just sat in silence. Staring. Not much was spoken during the meal. He didn't know why. He had tried to get a conversation started.

The Royal garden was very large so they could have as much time as they'd like together now. It was 8:05 pm so the garden was light with fireflies dancing in the moon light. "You're very quiet?" ling asked, concerned as he watched her walk in front of him on the path.

Lan Fan had her hair in her usual with two bangs framing her face and her full fridge out. Her hair was clipped back in a bun with two metal clips with deep blue beads at the ends and long gold earrings. Her dress was deep blue, made of silk, with long sleeves (to cover her damaged arm) but she had folded them over so her hands were visible. The hem of the dress was all gold and had a high collar, the dress split from her left thigh showing all her leg and wore gold coloured flat shoes on. Ling couldn't help but notice when she stood side on that her chest wasn't bound. That was also new.

"I'm simply being respectful in front of my master" she answered firmly. The comment took his back a little of guard. "I'm." He sighed lightly "I'm not your master anymore Lan Fan" he spoke softly and looked concerned. "Yes young lord" she answered absent mindidly as she walked on the garden trying to catch a firefly.

"erm Lan fan I think we should talk" he said quiet and concerned before sitting on a nearby bench. Lan Fan went to sit in the dirt by him but he grabbed her arm and mover her so she'd be next to him on the bench. He sighed heavily before continuing.

"Lan Fan I don't think this is healthy for you" he was facing her but she was still dazed by all the lights floating around. "Lan Fan please pay attention" this made her slowly move her head to his direction flustered. "I-I was listening I swear I-I-I w-was just-"  
"calm down please, I want to talk to you" with a small sympathetic smile  
"oh, erm ok then" even in the dim light ling could make out the blush on her checks  
"this isn't healthy" he repeated looking her in the eyes  
"which isn't?" she asked confused and worried  
"this 'young lord' thing" he responded very concerned  
"what do you mean? I havnt-"  
"listen, Lan Fan. I know you used to be my bodyguard and you called me your lord but you're not my servant anymore, just a friend, and I'm not your young lord, ok? You need to-" he gently used his finger to turn her head away from the fireflies and his direction "you need to treat me as your equal. Please?"  
"But you're not my equal, you the emperor of Xing. None is you equal so everyone should-"  
"LAN FAN!" he shouted to interrupt her, but quickly calmed down at the sight in his friends face. She obviously annoyed him but her got over it. He gave a deep sigh "sorry" he said quietly and turned to face forward.

There was an awkward silence. It seemed endless. Ling was the first to break the silence; it seemed clear to him that she wasn't going to speak anytime. "You look pretty" he spoke, just over a mutter, looking slightly at the floor. But as he started speaking Lan Fan was now walking down the path further into the garden making ling speed after her. "I've never seen you with make up or a dress on before" He only explained his previous comment to make sure she was listening then she started to pick up the pace, him following.

"Where are you running!" she shouted to her, 'she hadn't been in the garden before now so what could she be looking for?' he thought to himself. Once he got to the end of the path he had to crawl through the trees. 'Why's she gone through here?' he complained to himself as he crawled through the dirt, getting his silk robe and hands dirty.

When he came through the other side there was a round clearing surrounded by bushes and other plants making it concealed. Lan Fan was staring up towards the sky; Millions of firefly's danced under the half moon. The clearing was much brighter than the rest of the garden and he could see his whole surroundings (like it was just turning dark). However the clearing was very windy.

"I said you looked pretty and I've never seen you in a dress with makeup before" he repeated as he joined her side. Seeing the blush appear on her face "I know I heard" she mumbled now looking at her feet, holding her dress down in the wind. "So" he chuckled, now trying to get her to look up again. "How do you think I look?" a wide smile spread on his face, eyes closed like always. Clearly joking. This comment only made her freeze but then she turned to him and slowly lifted her head. "Nice" she muttered, face bright red like it was in the bedroom. "But…"  
"But what?" confusion and worry filled his face.  
She gave a worried hum and placed her hands on top of his head, and undid his hair.  
"hey what are you-"  
she walked around him as he spoke and tried his hair in a low pony, his side fridge covering half of his face and his hair spiky and scruffy as it used to be.  
"You look better with your hair like that" she muttered under her breath, still placed behind him. He turned around and smiled, gently using a finger under her chin to make her look up, they were gazing into each other's eyes. "Thank you" he muttered  
and they stayed like that for a while.

Lan Fan could feel her heart pounding and the heat rising between them. She wanted nothing more than to be with him again like she used to but that wasn't going to happen as he pointed out before. She could see in his eyes excitement and wonder and something sparkled but she'd never seen that before in his eyes. 'What could it mean?' she thought to herself.

Ling could see desire in her eyes, his heart beating faster as he held her hand. He felt like he couldn't live without her, like he needed her. And he did. He wanted to tell her how much he wanted her back, how much he did to get her back to him but couldn't bring himself to. He knew he couldn't date anyone and all his wives were to be the eldest daughters of the head of each clan but he couldn't help it. He started to lean in closer.

Then the wind picked up making her dress lift. She panicked and moved her arms to cover it looking down, breaking eye contact. And the moment. "You do look cute in a dress" he mused before Turing and looking at the moon, giving a smile.

The two of them were now covered in dirt and the bottom of her dress was ripped from crawling through the bushes. "What made you decide to climb through a bush and happen upon this place?"  
"The fireflies" she claimed calmly standing next to him and following his gaze to the moon.

'We have to come here again' he thought to himself

Not long after, Ling grabbed his bodyguard from the hallways of the palace and ran to the clearance, dragging her along. She was back in her trousers and chest binding, no shoes and hair down and scruffy. He had his hair in a low pony and wore his normal royal robes and shoes.

Once they got in the clearing, everything seemed to illuminate. Lan Fan gave him a curious gaze. "Look up" he smiled happily.

It was a full moon

"Every month from now on, during a full moon, we'll meet here. Ok? Our secret place" he laughed standing next to her. The happiest he'd been in a while.

* * *

**LOB note: thank you for all the positive reviews :) it means so much :)  
also, any ideas you think would fit just tell me and i'll give credit. i'm trying to make you all happy. i wasn't going to write this much about the garden, it was meant to be a paragraph briefly mentioning what happened but M.T Mystery Twins said they wanted to read what happened so i wrote the full thing and added romance. is that ok?**


	6. Chapter 6: the dates set

**Chapter 6**

Ling wore his hair in a pony every day since Lan Fan said she liked it better. It brought back memories of the past and was a reminder of his bodyguard, as they didn't see each other much besides passing each other in the palace halls and at dinner. He was always busy and she had no reason to join him during work. Many of the men he worked with tried to persuade him to go back to the bun saying it was 'tradition' and 'more respectable' but he wouldn't change his mind. Not if it made her happier.

* * *

Life was boring. Tiring and boring. Lan Fan had been living in the palace for two months now. Every day was the same: she'd get up at 4:30 am, get dressed in her ninja outfit, eat breakfast, go the dojo to train, Ran-Lee drags her to her room, get her changed into a dress and did her hair and makeup, have lessons on how to be girly (but she never listened), be sent to have tea but going to the servants quarters (old habit) and Ran – Lee had to escort her to the royal dining room telling her she wasn't a servant, eating in silence, going back the dojo, arguing with the security manager about not being a guard when he tells her she doesn't belong in the dodjo, going to her room to train by herself, Ran-Lee forcing her to take a bath, forcing her to wear a nightgown instead of her usual, talk about what the emperor did that day, forced to go to sleep early, sneaking out on the roof for three hours and going to sleep. All to do the same the next day.

She now knew that she'd get kicked out the dojo now but she walked there out of habit, and she thought maybe they might let her be a guard if she showed them what she had. They never gave her a chance though. so it didn't happen.

She was lying on her bed staring at the roof when Ran-Lee came bursting into the room with a tray in her hands with a letter placed on it in an envelope.

Lan Fan slowly sat up to see why her maid ran in, turning her head at the maid and gave a low hum before flopping back onto the bed.  
"What's wrong?" a soft voice came  
"It's boring here" Lan fan said in a plain emotionless voice  
"on the contrary miss" the main placed the try on the side table and sat Lan fan up "I'm having plenty of fun, the most in years to be honest"  
Lan Fan just hummed dully "yeah well you're not me" she complained as Ran-Lee passed her the tray. "Who's this from?" an annoyed look portrayed on her face  
"It's from the emperor" an enthuastic smile on her face, curious to what the letter said (Lan Fan always told her)  
Lan fan just rolled on her side, "oh"  
"What do you mean oh?" concerned and worried she sat next to her mistress and placed a hand on her solider. "Did something happen at dinner yesterday?"  
"no"  
"then what's wrong?"  
"nothing happened. Nothing ever happens. If he's going to ask me something he can say it to my face" then she mumbled to herself "like he used to"  
"miss, I'm sure he would if he could but he's very busy"  
"but not to busy to write letters" it was more a statement than a question  
"alright but I'll leave the letter here, and then she left the room, to run a bath.

***  
Lan Fan was yet again up during the night. She was on her way out the window when she stopped, turning to the letter. She would prefer if he told her these things or she could see him more but, but she really missed him, so she grabbed the letter and ran to the roof.

She just sat there for a while staring at the letter. The wind was absent so everything was still. Every once and a while an owl would call but otherwise silent. A deep sight escaping her mouth and she went to open it but changed her mind. She decided to start paying attention to her chi. she could sense Ling, asleep in his room, it made her smile. And after a moment she opened it. Hesitating slightly before pull the letter out.

_Lan Fan please stop going the dojo every day, you don't have the time anymore. Your match maker day has been set so you need to prepare, it will be in two weeks. I wish you look and hope it all goes well ~ Ling Yao_

She froze reading the letter over, and over, and over again. Everything was silent and still and someone tapped her back, making her jump up, Kuni in hand. It was the emperor.

"Hi" he said, smiling wide "what you doing up here?"  
Lan Fan just silently turned around and sat back down on the roof, letter in hand.  
"it's a lovely night" he chuckled and sat next to her, she still didn't talk  
"so what you doing on the roof?" he spoke with a smile as he faced her.  
"Same to you" she spoke with a stern and steady voice  
"I couldn't sleep and sensed your chi so I came to check it out"  
she was staring at him with wide eyes, astonished that he came up to check on her. "I see you read my letter" he sounded a little uneasy now. His eyes dropped to the paper and envelope in her hands. "Yeah" she mumbled  
everything went silent and no one broke it. They just sat staring at the city bellow in silence. The city light shimmering like the stars. Then Ling got up "best be going, got a busy day tomorrow" he looked at her for a moment "you to", yet again concern in his voice  
"yes young lord" and she stood up and vanished, running in the shadows, as she was trained. Before another word

* * *

She climbed into the window carefully, she felt hollow like her heart had sunk, and dropped the letter. Calmly she sat at the furthest wall in her room, with her back pressed against it. Her knees drawn in to her chest and her arms wrapped around them tight. Head resting on them. She could sense his chi from where she was. A tear dripped down her face. And she sat there for the rest of the night.

* * *

He entered his room closing the door behind him, standing there awhile. His heart bounding in his chest and worry in his eyes. He gave a sigh and lied down in his bed, staring at the roof. He felt alone.

* * *

**LOB note: i didn't plan much in this chapter so its not the best but i think it came out alright and the next chapter should be the same as the first 5**


	7. Chapter 7: lessons going well?

**Chapter seven**

Unfortunately Lan Fan did the same as every day, but today Ran-Lee waited for her at the dojo and dragged her back to her room straight away. Got her dressed and spent the rest of the day teaching her to pour tea, clean the house and do the wash. However unlike normal, Lan Fan actually paid attention. But only because the emperor told her to and she never disobeyed him. She wasn't necessarily good at any of the tasks though.

"you need to pay more attention"  
"I am paying attention" she snapped back frustrated  
"well pay more attention to what you're doing"  
"I am"  
"then focus more"  
"I am" she held out a Kuni ready to through, frustration on her face. This made Ran-Lee free in fear for a brief moment and then realising a heavy sigh. "Lan Fan" she shouted making her hesitate and put the weapon away. No matter how many times Ran-Lee tried to remove her weapons but she would always sneak them back so eventually she gave in.

"You need to stop with the ninja stuff, miss" she exclaimed as she sat on the other side of the table to Lan Fan. "And please don't mumble" after a while of silence, staring at Lan Fan as she stared down at the table where she spilt tea.

"you do know that the emperor is coming to check on you later to see your progress" this comment made the former ninja knock over the tea pot and cup in panic, spilling tea all-over the table and herself. She spoke slightly flustered "w-when? W-why?" she seemed too panicked to speak properly making Ran-Lee giggle.

Then the door opened and ling entered the room. The maid was sitting on the floor by the table looking over her shoulder and his former guard was standing, covered in tea looking in his direction flustered. After a mini second she sat down quickly, now looking at the floor.

Ling sat down at the end of the table, Ran-Lee to the left and Lan Fan to the right. "So how's it going?" he lightly laughed at the mess in front of him. This made the maid speechless seeing the emperor so careless and calm. However the comment and his presence just made Lan Fan blush more.

"Nice of you to join us" Ran-lee spoke in response.  
"My pleasure" he laughed, smiling wide.  
"Any luck?" he asked the maid knowing Lan Fan wasn't going to speak for a while  
"Yes, she's quite good at the cleaning and making tea, were still working on the rest" she responded respectfully. The response made Lan Fan lift her head a little, it was all a lie, she was awful at the lot. And she could sense that he knew it.  
"That's good to hear" he happily replied, turning his attention to Lan Fan.  
She didn't move.

"It's very nice of you to take time out of your busy schedule to come and see us, your highness" Ran Lee spoke up to break the brief awkwardness in the room.  
"Not at all, it's the very least I can do to come check on an old friend"  
"that's a different remark to yesterday" Lan Fan mumbled so Ran-Lee couldn't here and scold her.  
"Although I can't take too long as I have LOTs of work to do" he continued as to respond to Lan Fans comment. Emphasising the 'lots'.  
"Oh I see" Ran – Lee said thoughtfully. "Is there any way I can serve you master?"  
"Oh that sounds familiar, maybe you should let her go to her limit and then leave her. So you can get a more 'deserving' person to take her place" the mumbling came again.  
"No, not at all. I wouldn't want you to tire yourself. You do so much already" a hit of anger in his voice.  
"Oh, that's a different tune than before. Got a thing for royal servants" the mumbling got a little louder so Ran–Lee caught a few words. She responded in a low hissed whisper "Lan Fan you don't talk to th-"  
"is everything okay? The atmosphere seems to have a sense of ignorance" a slight snap in his tone.  
"Maybe your mistaken and it's the sense of 'oh I am a little stupid' no ignorance" she snapped in a now audible snarl  
"Lan Fan!"  
"Maybe you're the stupid one who doesn't understand"  
"maybe that's because you don't tell me anything so I can't understand"  
"what's that supost to mean?"  
"You keep me in the shadows!"  
"You're a ninja, you're supposed to be kept in the shadows!"  
"IM A NINJA? Well I'm not anymore am I? as you keep telling me!"  
"Because it's better for you!"  
"how's it better for me?!"  
"because it's dangerous!"  
"that's a joke, it's always been dangerous.!"

Ran – Lee just sat, the two were now standing, shouting full scale at each other. She was rendered speechless. She didn't know what to do.  
"well now it too dangerous!"  
"Why? Because I'm a girl? That's a laugh!"  
"what's that one supposed to stop me?!"  
"I've gone to further lengths than any of them. AND there's a whole group this time!"  
"I'm trying to keep to you safe!"  
"So you left me alone for months without a penny, family or a home? Thanks for caring, saved my life!"  
"You wouldn't know a thing about caring because you've got no one to care for!"  
"I have you!"  
instant silence.

With a hushed, quite voice he spoke "go get some tea"  
"pardon?" Ran-Lee missed the order as she was still dazed from the fight. He spoke in his normal volume, hint of holding back aggression "go get some fresh tea. And a cloth to clean up this mess" he was looking down at her on the floor now. She stud up and dashed out the room.

A few tears dripped down Lan fans face and she turned her head to the opposite direction to ling, And sat down on the floor.

Ling sat down behind her, back to back. Speaking in a hushed voice "did you mean that?"  
"Mean what?" it was barely audible  
"you care"  
"yeah" she spoke barely above a whisper now, sorrow in her voice  
"The day I became emperor, When I got in the car and I started to drive I did ask 'what about my guard?'. But they just said, 'you'll have plenty of them now'. For a whole month I tried to persuade them to let you come back and protect me. But they refused because you were missing a limb and became a weakness for enemies if you guarded me. I didn't tell them you were a girl. That was our secret. But no matter what I did they wouldn't let you be my guard. So after a month of failed persuasion I put word around that a close family friend from Amestris with a metal arm went missing in Xing and prayed someone would find you." He took a deep breath "I just want to have you near me where I know you're safe. Since you can't guard me anymore"

"I" she voice was cracked and he could her water fall. She was crying.  
"Come on now Lan Fan" he spoke with care and sympathy now "let's get you cleaned up"

It had taken a while to get Lan Fan to stop crying but once she calmed down a little Ling escorted her to his room. The room was about three times larger than Lan Fans and was mainly gold. Tapestries, expensive décor, four poster bed, silk, large windows, bedside draws, the dragons. And everything was neat. His old bedroom was messy. He led Lan Fan over to the bed and sat her on it. Then he started going through various wardrobes.

"Just wait one second…." his sentence trailed off  
"what about Ran-Lee?" she mumbled  
"who?"  
"The maid"  
"oh" he sounded ashamed now "I don't know everyone's names like I used to"  
"why" she was just curious now  
"there's so many, I don't see most of them, I'm always busy, their names don't come up. All different reasons"  
"And your guards?"  
"No"  
"why not"  
"same thing" he walked over to her and placed his old yellow jacket and white trousers on her lap. She looked at them briefly and back up to his face "I thought I wrecked your yellow jacket when I cut off my arm and you used it to easy the bleeding"  
"I got one remade when we came back from Xing" his hands rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke.  
"Why'd you give me these?"  
"So you can get changed"  
her face went red again, since there argument when she got angry the blush left leaving her frustrated instead. Ling new it would come back, he was wondering when.  
"I'll face the wall ok so don't worry"  
"but I erm….."  
"You what?"  
"Can't get out" her face completely  
"oh" he got flustered now to. "Erm well put the trousers on first and well figure it out" he muttered. He knew she had good hearing so it wasn't a problem to her. He walked to the other side of the room and faced the wall. "So erm…your erm pretty you know. When you're not flustered I mean" he heard her give an uneasy hum.

* * *

He couldn't believe it, she cared for him. He always knew that she'd go to lengths to protect him, just like her grandfather, but he always put it down to responsibility. He didn't know why but he felt relieved. He couldn't like her, her couldn't. There was no chance of them being together so what would be the point? He had to marry heirs and she was a servant anyway so it was band from there to begin with. AND NOW, Now he was uncomfortable and awkward because she was getting dressed behind him.

* * *

It was a little while later and ling was helping her lift the dress over her head. He'd seen her with just trousers and a chest binding on before so it was no different really. Unfortunately for her a few weapons had fallen out.  
"getting feminine huh?" he laughed  
"oi ut up, ts n uld hab bet" her voice muffled by the fabric over her face  
"uld hab bet hey?" he laughed  
A low growl and she stepped on his foot  
"hey" he laughed, "halfway there now" he said with a smile, it was hard to lift it off her as it was a tight fit.  
Then the bedroom doors opened.

* * *

**LOB note: sorry that this chapters like twice the size as the others but that's just because of the conversations in it. hope you like it :)**


	8. Chapter 8: happy now?

**Chapter eight**

The sound of the door tap the wall stopped ling from laughing and messing with Lan fan while trying to pull off her dress. She must have heard it to because they both froze briefly before the door closed with a thump.

"You're tea, your highness" Ran-lees voice came, it was shaky and nervous. Ling just stared at her for a moment before he remembered what she was talking about "oh yes, place it over there on the bedside please." He'd let go of the dress and was just standing behind her now, back towards her as he faced the door. He sounded confident but his chi showed nerves and embarrassment. 'How do you think I feel?' the half-dressed girl thought to herself, she couldn't see so she was relaying on hearing to tell what was happening in the room.

Ling didn't seem to want the awkward moment to last much longer as he walked to face the wall, speaking as he did, "You showed up just in time, your mistress seems to be stuck and could use your help" he seemed very calm now as he faced the wall while the maid helped Lan Fan out the dress.

* * *

"What was that all about?" She mumbled demandingly into Lan Fans ear  
"I needed help" she whispered back defensively when the dress came off and he head was free. Still bright red from earlier.  
"Why are you getting changed in his room anyway?"  
"Ask him, not me!" she quietly snapped  
"Your chest is binded?" this was more of an aggressive whisper with a look of surprise  
"so"  
"I told you, laddies don't bind there chest"  
"and I told you, CAN IT" the hushed argument wasn't loud enough for Ling to hear what they were saying but they were snapping at each other in hushed voices now.  
"You can't obey the simplest order can you?"  
"Can to"  
"like what?"  
"Protect the young lord"  
"but that's not your order anymore is it?"  
"Are you girls okay? I don't rely want to spend my day staring at the wall" he calmly announced.  
"Sorry your highness, you can turn around now" Ran-lee answered bowing, worry in her voice.

* * *

Ling turned around to see that the maid was frustrated and Lan Fan flustered. He gave a deep sigh before giving the maid the rest of the day off, then she rushed out the room.

"Here" Ling passed Lan Fan a plain hair tie so she wouldn't have the girly clips in her hair. After a while of playing with her hair so it looked more boyish he grabbed her arm. "Come" ling demanded pulling her long the halls.

Since it was bad for girls to be dressed as boys, Ling simply decided to dress her as a boy, covering both hands with bandages so you couldn't tell one was metal.  
"Whatever happens don't talk until I say, alright?" and he passed her a mask. Then pulled her into the dojo where guards were practicing one on one.

* * *

'there good' she thought to herself, the urge to join the fight returning, but she ignored it and stayed by Ling. She was quite happy standing there. Then she felt two hands briefly on her back and then she couldn't keep balance, stumbling forward, Ling had shoved her.

The next thing she knew, a Kuni was heading towards her. She ducked it and knocked it sideways with her metal hand. Causing it to fall to the floor where she rolled and picked it up, now in a crouch. Ling has pushed her into a battle between two guards while the others where observing. 'Probably the most experienced' she thought to herself, analyzing the scene.  
Unfortunately for her, she had interrupted, making her now part of the fight. And they weren't pleased about that.

A man, skinny but strong, appeared to be in his late 20's was running towards her, Kanata in hand. He was ready to strike when she swung her leg out knocking him off balance and rolling out the blades way. She stood up, and twisted around to threw the Kuni at the other man, hitting him in the shoulder as he ran towards her. The 1st man jumped up, pulling out nunchucks, swinging them at her, knocking her to the floor.

She scurried out the way, but the nunchucks hit her foot painfully as she did so. Ignoring the pain she pulled out one of her own smock bombs. Throwing it towards the 1st man, but blinding them both. Then she grabbed the Kanata off the floor and ducked an attack from the second man who was blindly lashing his blade around. She jumped on his shoulders and pressed the Kanata to his neck. Then she threw several Kuni at the 1st man, pinning him to the floor. When the smoke cleared up, it was obvious that she had beaten the two men. She then jumped back to the floor and over to ling. "well done" the mouthed and left the room, she tried to follow but the doors closed. leaving her in the dojo with the other guards

Much to Lan Fans surprise they wanted her to become a guard for the emperor but quickly denied it once they removed the mask and saw she was a girl. With allot of persuasion from ling, she was allowed to guard him for 1 hour every day, following the conditions:

1) At least one other guard was present at all times

2) She will only have the hour in the time slot

3) She will not be allowed out with the emperor. If he is out during her time slot, she will have to wait by the door for his return and if he doesn't come back until her time slot is up then she will have to wait till the next day

4) The time slot given will be during light hours

5) No arguing with other guards

She didn't like any of these rules but she thought of it as the first step to getting her old family position back, so she agreed to them all. It filled some of the whole Lan Fan felt was missing.

* * *

Everything went according to plan until they found out she was a girl, but that was alright in lings opinion as he had helped her in some way. Unfortunately he wasn't supposed to know when Lan Fan was guarding him and could therefore go out, causing her to miss her hour. However besides that he thought the agreements were…..Ok.

Unlike everyday Lan Fan had been there so far, once she got to the royal dining room she kept talking and laughing, asking lots of questions. She seemed happy for once.  
"How's your day been?"  
"Learn any names?"  
"Your hairs nice"  
"how's the weather"  
"the foods really good"  
"two weeks and I could be gone, will you look for then?"  
"You eat faster than anyone in the world don't you?"  
"bet you can't say a tongue twister as fast as you used to"  
"Alphonse is coming soon? Wonder if his short brother will be with him again?"  
"Green or blue?"  
"Race you around the table?"

The questions and comments kept coming. She seemed to forget her usual trained formal ninja self who kept personal things secret and was now a bubbly teenage girl with no worries in the world. 'She's weird like this, in a good way' ling thought to himself as he laughed. She was still wearing his cloths but now they were dusty and slightly battered…they also had a little blood on them but it wasn't that noticeable. Her hair was messy and more of it was out the hair tie than in it. Her automail was more visible and she had bruises all over her but she was smiling. A broad smile was spread across her face. He'd never seen her look like that before. She was radiating.

* * *

**LOB note: so the storys pace is going to pick up a little now :) and i've noticed all the reviews are on the even numbered chapters (2,4,6) and none on the others, it makes me laugh haha :) enjoy and ill update soon :)  
thank you for reading this far **


	9. Chapter 9: secret

**Chapter nine**

Ling was by himself, It was the day Lan Fan **had** to go the match maker. Alphonse had been living there for a while but he was always in the library, so this left him alone for the day. He hated the days he just did paperwork more than any, so it took him a while to do it. Sighing to himself he continued to work in the silence, nothing but pages rustling and his pen scratting on the paper breaking the silence. Then the doors to his throne room banged open and he quickly lift his head up. It was Ran-lee.

"Your highness" she quickly said, not stopping to breath "Lan fan has gone missing"  
and Ling ran past her "come with me" he responded, making her scurry behind him.  
"How is she missing?" he demanded  
"When we were halfway on our return she knocked everyone in her coach out and vanished"  
This made Ling grit his teeth with frustration, she promised she would act like a proper lady today.

* * *

It had been three hours and it was starting to get dark. While Ling took the right hand of the city and Ran-lee took the middle, leaving Alphonse too search the left. 'I thought things would be quite and simple without brother around' he thought to himself as he stopped and sat on a nearby bench to catch his breath after all the running around.

'If only I knew why she took off, it wouldn't half make it easier to find her' he thought as he looked around worriedly. The air had become airy and a dark shadow hung around the county, the glowing moon slowly becoming visible in the sky. He started to shiver as the cold took over and ruffled up his hair to calm him down a bit (like his brother did when he was little). 'If only I could use chi' he silently complained as he stood back up and began to walk down the street.

This part of the rich city seemed to be less cared for and extravagant than the rest and it seemed slightly sinister. After a while he looked around before lightly sighing 'great now I'm lost' fidgeting his hands in his pockets, searching for loose change for a pay phone to call someone.

Suddenly a gun was pressed to the back of his head, which made him freeze and go ridged.  
"Don't move" demanded a rough voice  
"ok" he replied, a little too calmly for the mans liking  
"Or I'll shoot" more aggression in his voice  
"what do you want?" signs of concern now showing in his voice  
"Your money and everything of value"  
"All my moneys in the bank. I'm not stupid"  
"empty your pockets!" demanded the stranger. He was getting really angry now.  
"Then I'll have to move ok?" he was just being sure he didn't get shot  
Then he clapped his hands together, the sound echoing through the silent night.  
The Man was caught in a hand, made of the floor in front of him, before he could do anything in his defence. It also knocked the gun out of his hands. Alphonse sighed lightly "would you really kill someone for money?" picking up the gun and placing it in his pocket sounding disappointed before walking down the street.

'I'd best find my way back or to a phone box at least. I don't want them sending people to search for me too' smiling to himself in the dark. Then a knife pressed against his throat "oh not again" escaped his mouth before he knew it. He didn't mean for it to come out but it did. And then it moved. Making him flinch for a moment thinking it comeback fast and hurt him.

Two arms embraced him. The warm one being cancelled out by the cold of the other reminding him of his big brother and how much he missed him, a tear dripped down his face. He looked around awkwardly "erm…sorry but I can't see a thing, who are you?" you could tell he was ashamed to admit this by his voice but you could also tell he had a brief idea of who it was embracing him. The arms loosened and dropped.

Alphonse made a light with his alchemy and turned around so he could see Lan Fan peering at him through her hair in the dim light. "Where have you been?" astonished that he found her (since he got lost)  
She pressed her finger to her lips and grabbed his arm with the cold metal hand. Running the direction she had come.

They entered an old house through the window, it must have been abanded; it was covered in a thick dust layer that also lingered in the air. She let go of his arm when they were halfway in the room and wondered off slowly. After a moment of taking in his surroundings he followed her.

The stairs creaked and rattled with every step but he kept going, wondering where she was heading in the rotting house. After all she was showing him a secret, right? 'Wonder where she's taking me?' he thought to himself as she entered a room upstairs.

Though the dusk in the hall you could see the faint markings of blood. The sight made his stomach tighten and turn. After a moment of noticing it he realised the whole house was. He followed Lan Fan in what appeared to be the masters' room of the house. A Large double bed, neatly made was in the centre and vases filled with now dead flowers were all over the room. Lan Fan had her back to the bed and faced the wall, as Alphonse sat next to her and looked in the same direction he could see a picture, a hand and recently whipped the dust off the top half.

"Is that your mum and dad?" Alphonse asked in his usual childish manner  
a low hum coming from her  
"they look like nice people" he replied comfortingly "you look a lot like your mother" he spoke ah he turned to her. She had fell asleep.

* * *

It was 2:00 AM in the morning and Alphonse and Lan Fan were still out in the dark "where could they be?" ling paced the room nervously as Ran-lee watched. Suddenly the door opened and Alphonse entered carrying Lan Fan, fast asleep in his arms. Her pale face standing out with her black hair, now messy, framing it. Her dark eye shadow and lipstick now smudged. He dress was ripped at the bottom and splattered with mud, and one of her shoes were missing. However, She looked so peaceful in Al's arms. It made him partly jealous

* * *

**LOB note: hiya, i liked this chapter because i got to write with innocent little Al ^^ so theirs deffo going to be more of his POV later.  
and, yeah, I'm sorry about this. I've got school again now and exams so instead of every day like the last eight, the chapters are going to be every week. i made sure to get this done by then because of all the push your positive and constructive reviews gave me so thanks allot. i guess this chapter if for you guys :) **


	10. Chapter 10: sleep tight

**Chapter ten**

Mai had been disappointed when she was told she couldn't see what Lan Fan looked like on her Match making day because she was meant to get her picture afterwards and that didn't go much to plan. As she had explained to Alphonse "My clans too poor to have match makers so I'd never be able to go to one. But I was always told it was a day about the 'bride to be' so I always wanted to have one and be dressed up. Not that I need a match maker anymore anyway but it'd have been nice to see what a girl would look like, you know?"  
Alphonse just smiled as he walked alongside her "I'm sure you'll see one someday"  
"I hope so" she replied looking up at him. She seemed a little angry but he just didn't know why.

"This is her room" Ling shouted down the corridor waving and pointing to the only room with the large doors opened.  
"Shout and you'll wake her up" Mai replied in a loud hushed voice (like a shouted whisper).  
"Your shouting too!"  
"shush" the panda named Xiao-Mai replied from her seat on Mai's shoulder to Ling, causing Mai to pull tongues and laugh

Once they placed the teenager on her bed and closed the blinds, Mai wrote her a letter explaining that Alphonse brought her home and they'll ask her about everything the following night.  
"Well I'm going to bed" Mai declared as she placed the pen down. "Night" she bowed to Ling, having a bow in response. "Night~" she hugged Al, making him blush a little "night Mai" he softly responded and she ran from the room.

"How Long has Mai been here?"  
"Since 12:30 I think" he answered thoughtfully. "Yeah about then" he confirmed before glancing at Lan Fan and quickly turning back to Al "we should probably head off too"  
"yeah your right. I've got lots of catching up to do in the morning." giving a sweet smile at the end of his statement.

As they turned to face the door and leave, the Head of security was standing in the doorway. "Your highness" he bowed  
"Mr Wingashima" Ling bowed back  
"I'm afraid that miss… erm… Lan fan can't stay in these residents anymore"  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE CAN'T STA-" his anger taking over  
"As a servant to the royal palace she should stay with all the other bodyguards"  
"but this has been her room for ages"  
"well we arranged for her to stay until her match making was over"  
"I see, but she can't stay with the other guards, she's a lady" trying to find a loophole  
"We have a separate room prepared" the end of his lips curling a little

They followed Mr Wingashima to the servant quarters where ling had to stop. The emperor was forbidden to enter the servants' area, which Alphonse thought was silly as the palace belonged to ling but didn't say anything on the subject. Even without chi Alphonse could tell that Ling wanted to go so he promised himself he would make sure Lan fan was alright himself before returning to bed.

"This is her room" he snarled pointing to a door. His lips pressed together as to hide his disgust. And then he left.  
It took Alphonse about ten minutes to open the door while carrying Lan fan but eventually he managed. He stopped and gave a deep disappointed sigh. The room was bare, just plastered, and the plaster was flaking and cracked with chunks already missing with a damp wooden floor, spiders collecting in the corners of the room. The bed was old with white paint flaking, it looked like once it would have been a nice bed but now it looked like something you wouldn't even give a dog. At the moment an old battered pillow and an old blanket were placed over the small bed. The bed fit with just enough room to walk right next to it and back into the corridor. The door didn't even have a lock on it. It seemed more like Mr Wingashima put it together during the day from a broom closet than a spare bed room.

Alphonse slowly, and carefully, walked into the room making sure not to knock her into the wall or wake her up. After untying her hair he laid her down on the pillow. "This place could use a little fix up" he whispered quietly to himself before preforming alchemy on the walls so the plaster looked like new. "Sleep well" he whispered before leaving.

Before going to bed he went to see Ling. He knew Ling wanted to escort Lan fan to her 'new' room so Alphonse decided he would tell her that the room was alright (as not to worry him) and then help her fix it up throughout the week. After confirming it with ling he went to bed for a good long rest. Things could have been easier while he studied abroad.

* * *

She slowly opened her heavy eye lids. Noise surrounding her. Her slightly blurry sight getting clearer. She jumped up with a start 'where am I?' she thought in a panic, hearing a clatter she turned her head around to see a door wide open and all sorts of servants walking past in a hurry. 'Just the servants quarters' she thought to herself relived, leaving the room.  
She stood in the corridor watching everyone run past her in a hurry. Then a tump hit her back and she fell forward. Normally she would have kept her balance but since she was still in a dress she just fell harder.

All she could see was the wooden floor, feet running past and papers floating to the ground. "urgh!" the moan came from behind her. She rolled over and lifted herself up on her automail elbow to see who it was.

* * *

It was 2 pm and Mai was teaching Alphonse Alkahestry. However Ling wasn't in the palace, he was in the town bellow.  
He had first gone to the match maker. Apparently Lan fan had taken twice as long as the other people. This was good and bad. As it turned out all the particle things like cleaning and making tea and looking after children she did better than most, unfortunately when it came to questions like "what is your duty as a woman", "you job as a mother?", "your job as a wife", "your goal in life" and "interests?" she didn't answer with the normal: look pretty, raise the children, please my husband, keep my husband happy, raising a family. However, Lan fan had went with: to not be one, teach strict to be ninjas, none what-so-ever, do whatever it takes to protect the young lord and the young lords safety. She went downhill.

As a reward for learning **something **he was now looking around shops in disguise, bodyguards hiding in the shadows not too far behind. 'Reminds me of rush valley' he thought to himself smiling. Then something caught his attention.

* * *

**LOB note: woow! 10 chapters, didn't think its get this far. alright, as i said earlier i hadn't decided how long i wanted it to be but i have decided that 20 chapters max is enough. sorry if you think that's too long but a time jump is in order soon anyway :)  
Also i 'm going to write in more of Al's POV because hes so innocent i think it will be nice to add his opinion once in a while.  
please please please please please leave constructive advice and leave a review? it really helps more than i could explain. XXXX  
more romance than whats theirs been so far, promise**


	11. Chapter 11: Winds of change

**Chapter eleven**

It was now nearing winter. Mai and Xiao-mai had gone back to their clan to help prepare against the harsh weather. Lan fan had made friends with the boy who knocked her over. His name was Len and he was a body guard (only four years older than herself) plus they had a few in common.  
Unfortunately for Lan Fan, every possible husband was to ask permission from a relative and since she had none, Ling as her boss, had the job and he turned them all down. The main reason this annoyed her was every time a new man came she had to spend a whole day getting ready and girly, but the fact no one was 'good enough' was also annoying. They argued over dinner about this allot as she was still able to eat with him because besides Len and Ran-lee (her former maid) none of the other servants liked her.

And every month they would meet in the secret place, and every month they would joke, mess around and be their old selves again. Every month they would relax, have fun, tell secrets and eat to their hearts content. However. One time it was Len's day off so Lan fan was training with him and they were messing around with the equipment in the dojo, she was too distracted to notice it was night, causing her to panic and show up late. And she hated herself for it. She apologised everyday about being three hours late to that one meeting until 4th December.

"What's your problem?!"  
"What's yours?!"  
They were both standing up arguing across the table.  
"What do you mean? I don't have a problem!"  
"yeah you do, you turn down every one of my suitors and say I deserve better, but when I say it it's a problem!-"  
"I'm your emperor"  
"and I'm your guard!"  
"You're just a servant!"  
"And your just an idiot!"  
"Take that back!"  
"When you give me my arm back!"  
"I told you not to do it!"  
"It saved your life!"  
"And apparently ruined yours!"  
"I'm just looking out for you!"  
"I'm just looking out for my country!"  
"So your marrying a stranger?!"  
"That's how it works!" emphasising every word.  
"You said you wanted your first wedding to be special!"  
"You said you didn't want to get married!"  
"You said you'd help me!"  
"You said you'd protect me!"  
"You said you'd do what's best!"  
"That's what I'm doing!"  
"Said who!"  
"Peace between clans!"  
"As if marrying someone in your own clan would help!"  
"Well it's where I'm going to start!"  
"That's a stupid start!"  
"How would you know that!"  
"How do you know anything!"  
She through something at Ling and ran from the room. It was the yin half of necklace he bought her for doing her best on the match making day.

* * *

The house Lan Fan took Al to was now cleaned up, beside the blood stains. Whenever Lan fan was sad or fed up she would normally go there now and Alphonse could go get her if it was getting late and she hadn't returned.

This time she was only there for 30 minutes before he arrived. He held out a box. "I found a stray cat" he beamed sitting next to her. "I've called him Terry" (after Trisha – his mother) he said placing the kitten on the floor.  
"I used to have a cat, the bed should be in the closet in my old room" she muttered making Alphonse run upstairs. As he came back down carrying a box of cat stuff she spoke happily "you've never mentioned your past before" and started to lay everything out.  
"You never ask" she lifted her head up properly and turned to face him.  
Silence fell between them as Alphonse played with his kitten before he broke the silence.

"How come you shown me the way here if you say no one else knows about it"  
"because I don't want anyone else to know" then she turned and faced him with a soft smile. "And you can keep secrets"  
"what where you doing in that part of the town at that time of night?"  
This question made her freeze momentarily, "I had business"  
"what business?"  
"Not yours" she answered flatly to avoid another argument.

"So what about to your cat?"  
"She was called lucky, She was completely black furred, and my dad used to call her 'little ninja' but she got hit by a carriage" she answered without any emotion and she twiddled her fingers.

"So tell me about your parents?" Alphonse asked uneasy, scared he might offend her.  
"Well my dad was a ninja like the whole of his family, and my mum was a house wife, like I should have been. Because I'm a girl I shouldn't have been a ninja so my mum was teaching me chores and I think I was going to have a little brother, but I was always more interested in what my dad did than my mother, so he used to tell me stories about his job with grandfather." Her gaze dropped to the floor.

"He used to sneak me in the dojo as a boy and let me fight the other kids" a smile appeared but vanished almost immediately "unfortunately my family are known to be the heir to the Yao clans' bodyguards so we were attacked during the night. My farther had just come back from an assignment and wasn't very stable but he put up a good and my mother didn't know a thing about self-defence, she was always defenceless. That's why there's blood around the house" Her voice stayed strong but a few tears fell onto the floor  
"my grandfather killed the men not long after both my parents died and were after me. I wasn't seen outside as a girl and there were no other hairs to my family, I was raised as a ninja and pretended to be a boy. The only people who ever knew I was a girl were the young lord and my grandfather. Until I went to Amestris that is"  
and then she burst into tears.

* * *

Ling had finished making plans with his first wife - Yao clan and was fidgeting with the necklace Lan fan threw at him between his fingers.  
"What's that?" a guard asked him in a curious and friendly voice. Without even thinking about how casual it was for a palace guard he answered with a dull plain voice "its half of the necklace I gave Lan fan for being good preparing for her match making day"  
"half?"  
"It's a two half necklace of yin and yang. I gave her both half's so she could decide who got the other"  
Then it accured to him that guards should be formal and turned behind him to see no one there. He gave a deep sigh and continued with his fidgeting.

After about three hours Ling hand finished his paperwork and was in the middle of a stroll in the royal garden. It started to rain heavy.

* * *

Lan fan was slowly walking back to the palace. Alphonse he knew a storm was coming and it would scare the kitten so he had headed back to the palace an hour beforehand. But Lan fan still wanted time to think so she stayed awhile.

The cold damp atmosphere filled around her. Pain filling her left shoulder. (When it rained automail gets barometric pressure). She stopped walking and hunched over slightly holding her stomach with her flesh arm. The pain was making her feel sick. She lifted her head to look around her and ran down the road, stumbling on her dress a few times as she went.

The cobblestone flicked water up as she ran down it, making the dirty water cover the hem of her skirt. The rain started to come down heavier, now she was thick with water. Her dress clinging to her as she ran, and her hair becoming heavy with water. Quickly she ran into an alleyway to vomit out of sight.

* * *

Ling had snook out of the palace looking for his female friend, necklace gripped in his hand. Starting to shiver as the cold water fell. His spiky hair that normally stuck up at angels going flat, the water dripping off the end in-front of his face. 'What could she be doing?' he thought to himself as he searched.

Since no one had eyes like ling, he couldn't ask anyone if they'd seen her because they'd know it was him. And he didn't want that. All he could do is use his sight and sense of chi to find the missing girl. And hope for the best – that she was safe.

***  
he had been out for two hours now, the rain now turned into a thunder storm making ling worry – thunder was attracted to metal. He froze and his heart hammered his chest, finally he could feel her chi. immediately, he ran in her direction, desperate to see her again.

She was hunched over on the floor, soaked through with water, mud all over her dress and hands and a pool of vomit infront of her. He face crumpled in pain. She didn't seem like she was willing to move so ling did the first thing that came to her. He carried her over his shoulder – like he did during their first encounter with King Bradley/wrath.

* * *

The pain was agonising. It felt like someone was twisting her nerves system, mussel tissues and flesh in her left shoulder. She was unfocused and didn't know what was going on besides the pain filling her body making her sick to her stomach. She could hear the lightning but couldn't think anything of it, and felt the familiar grip around her waist but couldn't see who it was. She felt disconnected and couldn't even bring herself to talk as her mind was going in circles. She really did feel like a doll at the moment. And before much longer she slipped into unconsciousness.

She could feel the warm soft fabric pressed against her face and the smooth silk over her. She was lying on something soft, the comfiest thing she had ever laid on. She felt like she was floating, everything was so peaceful. Letting herself melt into the moment.  
Then she could feel warm lips pressed against her cheek for a second, without any thought she let out a low satisfied hum. After a second she realised what had happened. Someone had kissed her and she loudly announced she liked it-she didn't even know who did it.

She shot open her eyes and her face became flustered, she was in the emperor's room. 'Oh god' she thought as she slowly sat up, trying to think of an excuse to the hum she had made. When she was fully sat up she could see ling (wearing nothing but a robe over him- closed tightly) and Len (in his work gear) standing at the foot of the bed glaring at her, smiles on their faces. Making her go even redder.

"You're right. She does blush around you. Never thought I'd see her look like that" Len mussed. She wanted to shout 'shut up', but couldn't bring herself to speak.

Instead she tried to remember what had happened before she fell asleep. The memory coming back made her quickly pull the sheets up over her. She could see her arm but when she was out in the rain she had long sleeves, once the cover was up she looked down to check what she was wearing.

She had a red short sleeve silk shirt on with a black trim on it and white baggy trousers.  
"That's Len's stuff" Ling explained, understanding her sudden actions of panic "all my stuffs in the wash" he added on as she looked up, embarrassment glistening in her eyes.  
"Automail gets bad in the damp atmosphere right? So we thought if we got you dry and got you warm you might feel better. Looks like it worked" Ling added with his usually friendly smile.

She couldn't help but wonder who kissed her.

* * *

**LOB note: so this chapter is longer than the others and i don't really know what else to say about it. i intended something else to happen but i decided that it be better later on without Ling/Len, i haven't decided yet.  
Also, I've got too much idea's of Ling and Lan fan for this one story and they don't all fit, so i might starts another one after this haha  
So i wanted to know what you people think of Len? i know what happens but i wanted to know what all you guys think of him before i add him in more/less. please answer my question :) (i mean i always answer yours asap haha xxx)  
thank you so much for reading :) i can't wait to here what you think of this chapter **


	12. Chapter 12: Gossip

**Chapter twelve**

Lan Fan left the room almost instantly. She was too uncomfortable with Ling being undressed. So she went to tell Ran-lee of the incident.  
"You what?" the maid asked excitedly during her break – it was the afternoon during the following day from the storm  
"I-I didn't mean it"  
"well who was it?"  
"Shush, or people will hear you" she started to become flustered now.  
"Well, who was it?" she repeated in a hushed voice excitedly  
"I don't know" Lan fan and Ran-lee seemed like giddy school girls- but since they were teenagers (Lan fan being 16 and ran-lee being 18) it was acceptable. In a way.  
"Oh my gosh, really?" her astonishment coming through in her voice  
"Yes" she stressed in her whisper, being on the field wasn't as private as they'd have hoped  
"well?"  
"Well what?" the question came uneasy and nervous and Lan fan leaned back while she asked this.  
"Who do you wish it was?"  
"I erm.." becoming even more flustered at the question  
"come on spill"  
"who I wish it was is of no concern"  
"it is to me." She demanded "I'm your friend, come on spill."  
"well I-"  
"come on tell me, do you like the rich and spoiled man with all the time on his hands filled with work or the weak, guard in training who doesn't mind getting her hands dirty?"  
"The young lord isn't spoiled, he cares about everyone greatly and -" she defended out of habit before she was interrupted.  
"I know you were a rule breaker"  
"What's that mean?"  
"Come on, you're a female ninja – that's a man's job by law. I knew there was more of a rebel in you that it seemed"  
"what do you me-"  
"you're a servant- you can't be with him by law"  
The conversation lasted the rest of Ran-lees break before she was forced away by the other maids Lan fan hadn't seen since arriving. So she decided to go back to her room to change cloths back to her own – she didn't tell Ran-lee they were Len's.

Alphonse had given her a lock on her door with alchemy so she had some more privacy. He offered to help with the rest but Lan fan disagreed. Her mask and other weapons scattered on the floor as well as make up, cloths, brushes, clips, jewellery, shoes, oil cans and underwear. She didn't have anywhere else to put them so why not?

After a while of sitting in her room thinking about the morning and her discussion with Ran-lee, she couldn't help but wonder what one she wanted it to be. She didn't like Len in that way but she couldn't love the emperor- as Ran-lee explained. Then someone knocked on her door. "COME IN" she answered loudly, she was fully against moving and the door wasn't locked anymore. Then Len entered the room, looking uneasy.

"Oh hey" Lan fan responded with a wide smile on her face. He was used to her little messy 'shoe box' (as he called her room) so he just walked over to Lan Fan and sat next to her, taking a deep breath.

"You ok? You seem worried"  
"mind if I close the door?"  
"Go ahead"  
"so erm…. You look different when your blushing"  
"next topic" Lan fan answered immediately, they always talked like that when no one was around  
"I was worried when Ling brought you back unconscious, thought something awful happened"  
"You address him as the your highness" she added quietly  
"you call him young lord" he added in a mocking tone  
"I'm allowed to call him young lord, it's an old habit" she replied back mockingly with a grin  
"he gave me permission to call him Ling"  
Then she turned her face emotionless "next topic" she flatly spoke as she turned to face forward again. She didn't want to admit her defeat at the conversation, making Len laugh.

After a few seconds of thought a menacing grin spread across Len's face, and then he turned to Lan fan, supressing a laugh as he spoke. "Do those cloths fit ok? Because you have a very feminine figure and I-"  
"next topic" she interrupted as her cheek turned red.  
"What can we talk about then?"  
"What did you come here to talk about"  
His grin was matched with a strange glimmer in his eyes, "you free tonight?"

The night was cold and dim, no fireflies were out in winter. Lan fan was fully dressed with her ninja gear (including her mask) and was sitting in her room. Waiting.  
"psst" the voice came from above, Lan fan climbed into the roof, Len piercing at her through his mask.

* * *

The school corridors were wide and endless, it was lunch time and my friends and I had decided to spend lunch in one of the old class rooms. I was so excited. These were the first real friends I had ever had since my eyes looked sinister people tended to shy away, but not these- yet I still didn't know why, I was hoping to find out soon so I could do it again to get more later in life.

As I approached the door I could sense a dark feeling. And it scared me, making my heart race. I reached out my hand, slightly shaking and turned the handle, pushing the door open without actually walking in the room, standing in the door way. Everything seemed to be slow motion. As the door opened blood appeared everywhere in the room. Making my eyes widen as the bodies were scattered across the floor. Weapons, broken tables, shattered window, displays torn to pieces. My new friends were all dead. And in the middle of them was a young girl, she was a few months older than me (she'd just turned 13) covered in blood standing tall, Kanata in hand dripping, facing the other way. She turned her head to face over her left shoulder (the one holding the weapon) and as soon as she'd seen me she headed up to a missing tile in the roof and climbed though, placing the title over the gap. She was gone in a flash.

I'd have never thought the same quite, shy, girl who just sat and stared at everything all day was actually good at fighting, and on a large scale, and it frightened me. I was left to wonder, 'why'd she kill my new friends?' and I never did know.

Ling opened his eyes with a fright, nothing but an old memory lingering in his dreams. He'd never seen Lan fan like that since, and she did look scary. But why was he thinking about that now? Everything was fine.

* * *

Every wall, roof and floor in the palace had a small gap between them, big enough for Len and Lan fan to use to sneak around the palace. Rats, spiders, blood stains and dust filled them all but it never stopped them from crawling through it.  
"What's the mission?" she whispered  
"you'll see"  
"you're cruel" she moaned back in a hushed voice  
"and you're grumpy. Come on"

They crawled through the passageways for a while, Lan fans automail screeching occasionally on the wall in the tight spaces. Eventually a light could be seen at the end of the passage. When they reached the end they looked out, covered by the air vents metal grid, a campfire was seen in front of them, just into the distance, Len taped Lan fan and pointed towards them.

"They're going to sneak into the emperors-happy?- chambers and try to assassin him. But they don't know about the passageways. All we got to do is stop them and WA-LA! you're a proven useful guard" is quite hushed voice was filled with excitement. The plan sounded sinister and risky and she knew he should have reported it and that it was wrong to keep it a secret but the thought of being a trustful guard again brought a smile to her face, and it felt good. In a weird way.

* * *

**LOB note: sorry if the random change to the dream thoughts you but i didn't know how else to add it in. The next chapters not gonna be my best so if its confusing i apologies before hand :)  
Question: what do you think of Ran-lee?**

**thank you for all the support**


	13. Chapter 13: determination

**IMPROTANT: Contains slightley grousEm context**

**Chapter thirteen**

A cold breeze softly drifted into the room, the silk curtains dancing slowly in the breeze letting the moon light illuminate the center of the room at the foot of his bed. No matter how much he tried he couldn't get back to sleep. After tossing and turning he sat up and looked at the lighted part of his room, sighing heavily and closing his eyes, relaxing. Allowing his mind drift away. Slowly.

After a moment of blissful peace he felt a dark presence nearby causing his eyes to shot open. The roof above the moonlit floor came in. The dust from the plaster and stone filled the room and all he could hear was the tings and prangs of weapons clashing in combat and occasional thuds of a foot grasping balance or a body thump against a wall and the grunts through gritted teeth with stress. After a few minutes of this he could finally make out two figures moving in the mist –still filling the room- both black silhouettes.

But he couldn't make out who it was until everything cleared from the air.  
It was Len was fighting some random man. He seemed badly wounded with blood dripping from his cloths (although he couldn't see were from as he was wearing all black).

They continued fighting. Unaware of the emperors watchful gaze (assuming he was still asleep). They continued to jump back and forward with blades in each hand, reflecting each other's attacks for a short while. Then a second assassin joined it attacking Len, this one seemed more angry and blazing eyes. Ling was frozen still, he didn't understand what was happening and it scared him. Frozen with fear. He'd never had a battle in his room, never mind at night – emperor or prince.

Then he heard a loud bang from above. An explosive had gone off in the hidden tunnels and he could hear a man screaming. The three men infront seemed too busy wrestling with each other to notice the scream. But ling moved his gaze to the whole in his roof, so he didn't move (as he didn't want to risk getting their attention) and just waited for something good to happen.

The two men had restrained Len and had hold of an arm each. Then another figure appeared behind them and knocked one out with a hard 'Thunk' on the head. However as they went to knock out the other man they were shoved aside by a third assassin.

The hood came down as the savior hit the floor, it was Lan fan. Ling half rose as the sight of her as two men grabbed him from nowhere and pulled him out the bed.

With one man unconscious, one holding down Len, two holding back Ling and One against Lan fan – things didn't look great.  
Besides the slight limp coming from the random man and a hesitation in every move Lan Fan made they seemed to be equally matched and fought swiftly and quickly. Ling was worried.

* * *

The pain in her left shoulder was agonizing and she was holding back tears behind her mask. Then she couldn't feel anything but paralyzing pain in her right leg and fell to the ground. She could see a man smirking at her. Looking down at her.

And then a new man walked from behind her. A long spear in hand, blood dripping, it was what had passed through her leg causing her pain.

She was now against two people.

"Let's see who's behind the mask before we kill the prat" the ginning man sneered  
"The young lord isn't a prat!" she growled through gritted teeth, slowly trying to rise and though a Kuni in their direction.  
"Brats got spunk" the speared man replied with a snicker  
"what made you so angry" the first man spoke again, wonder in his eyes and a devilish grin.  
She slowly straightened her back and prepared herself to attack. "The young lords twice the man you'll ever be. In fact a thousand times at least" she growled, pain clear in her voice.

As she ran to attack them, the man with the spear pulled out a grenade and through it at her, exploding with impact and knocking her over. Blood now pouring out of her arm where her automail attached to her shoulder.

The men froze as the mask fell to the ground.

She was now wincing in pain, holding her shoulder with her head slightly bowed as she panted with heavy breaths. Then a loud echoing laughter filled the room. All of the men from the opposing team were crying with laughter making Lan fan stand tall once again, breathing heavy and unable to change the wincing expression to a stern angry look.

"it's just a little weak girl" the one standing by the speared man laughed  
"you think you have a chance against us men?!" the one holding Len asked with amusement  
"it's a miracle your still alive girl, been sneaking some training books?" the speared one tautened  
"SHUT UP!" she shouted at them, taking a lot of effort to talk with a clear brave tone and looking at them in the eyes, lifting her head. "I'm a trained assassin of the Yao clan." A tear rolling down her cheek "And you're nothing I can't handle" she added as she threw a Kuni at the man just standing there.  
"Have you seen yourself? Your nothing but a dishonor and a disgrace!" stressing the last few words.

Ling couldn't do anything but watch. Astonished by what was happening. He'd never seen people laugh at Lan fan before – never mind in battle.

"don't listen to them Lan Fan!" Len shouted to her as she started to cry. Causing the man holding him down to knock him at the back of his head – sending him unconscious.

The man holding the spear poked Lan fan with the handle and she fell straight to the floor. He then stabbed her in her right side, causing her to scream, tears pouring down.  
"STOP IT!" ling demanded as he started to twist the blade inside her. Her cry's now filling the room. Before taking a step back, slowly removing the blade.

Then he dropped his weapon to the floor behind him and smirked at the girl crying on the ground before him. "You think you can beat me? Fine!" he laughed "then fight me now with all you've got. I won't even use any weapons" she sneered evilly with a gleam in his eyes.

Ling could feel a tear roll down his cheek watching Lan Fan desperately trying to stand up. Only lifting partway before dropping to the ground and trying again.  
"Why don't you just give up?" he demanded  
"be…..be…because I …..have to…. Pro…tect…t….the young…lord" she mumbled as she slowly rose up. Now standing slightly hunched with her automail hand covering her wound.  
"you foolish girl" he snickered as he kicked her in the stomach, making her go back a few steps, managing to keep balance and cough out some blood.

"STOP IT LAN FAN!" ling demanded, trying to wiggle free, before one of the men holding him backed tied fabric around his mouth. Gagging him.

Lan Fan squeezed her eyes closed and then ran forward, swinging her arm to hit her opponents head with her right arm, then as he grabbed it and started to laugh, she used her left arm to grab the front of his shirt and slid between his legs. This sent him to the ground and caused him to bang his head hard on the ground. She then picked up the spear from the ground and stabbed him in his shoulder, causing his to scream in pain. She pulled it out with both hands and ran it through his skull. Blood splattering around. Covering Lan fan, the spear and the floor around them.

Then she turned around with an evil glare to the man standing there in astonishment.

"DON'T YOU DARE HARM THE YOUNG LORD!"

* * *

**LOB NOTE: i'm so-so-so-so-so-so-so sorry that this chapter took so long but my charger broke so i have to share with my sister and i also have 15 exams to do so it's took its time. please forgive me.**

**Sorry if its a bit hard to follow but any advise would be very much appreciated.**

**although i didn't upload this chapter until a month after the last chapter, chapter 12 had no comments so i didn't know if you guys like how the story's going so...yeah.**

**I'll try and do the next chapter soon. It should be more clear than this one and hopefully more LingFan feels - i am aware this is a romance story and the romantic feelings are coming soon i promise.**

**i also don't know if i should add a prologue? you know a sort chapter once this is finished to say what the turnout in the future is. what do you think?  
**

**They story is coming closer to its end and i'm actually proud of how much I've wrote and stuck with this story - thanks for the support!**


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